1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to information delivery in a computer network. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for importing/exporting or detaching/attaching a file to or from a remote host or mail server in a distributed computer environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
E-mail has become the communication method of choice throughout the business world as well as for the general public. In a typical enterprise environment, a mail server (such as UNIX SendMail) has a local mail delivery agent or client (typically . . . /bin/mail on UNIX systems) that stores an incoming e-mail on a local file system and delivers it to an end user via POP, IMAP or a command line program. Such agents typically provide the basic functionality of logging in an e-mail message and copying that message to a client machine's mail spool. Internet-based client-server messaging systems include, for example, Lotus Notes, which provides e-mail, calendaring, group scheduling, Web access and information management, integrated in an easy-to-use and customizable environment.
Existing e-mail applications (such as a Lotus Notes client), UNIX sendmail or MS Internet Mail) do not allow a user to import (“attach”) a file from a remote host or to export (“detach”) a file to a remote host in the network. A “remote” host as used herein could be configured as either a client or a server. These functions, however, may only be performed for a file that resides on a local host. Thus, in the prior art, before a user may import a file, that file has to reside locally. If the file does not reside locally, the user must perform a file transfer (e.g., using a protocol such as ftp) to first retrieve the file from the remote server to the local system. Conversely, in the prior art, if the user desires to export a file received with a given e-mail, he or she must open the e-mail, detach the file, and then perform a separate file transfer (e.g., via ftp) from the local to the remote system.
It would be desirable to enable a user to remotely import/attach or export/detach a file residing in a remote host in an Internet-based e-mail client. The present invention addresses this deficiency in the art.